Everyone enjoys a good movie night with their family. However, most of us can’t watch all movies with our families. There are a number of things that need to be considered when selecting a movie to watch with your family. It must not contain any inappropriate language, the storyline should be suitable for all audiences and it must not show too much violence, graphic content, or explicit scenes. All these criteria make selecting a family movie a difficult task. The following movies meet all the family viewing criteria.

1.  Night at the Museum (2006)

2006's fantasy-comedy called 'Night at the Museum' is a film most movie buffs will include in the list of the best family films. Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon wrote the movie’s script using Milan Trenc’s 1993 book 'The Night at the Museum'. The the plot is about a divorced father who seeks a job as a night watchman at New York City's American Museum of Natural History. While on duty, he discovers that the exhibits, come to life at night by a magical Egyptian artifact, . Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) gets employed by the American Museum of Natural History to replace someone who is retiring. With the instruction booklet and information, Larry gets off to a good working, but to his shock and amazement, the artifacts reanimate on the first night. The same happens on the second night, which gets Larry fired, but he is reinstated when the events raise the museum attendance.

Director: Shawn Levy was the co-producer and the director of the Night at the Museum movie.

Main Cast:  Ben Stiller (Lawrence "Larry" Daley), Carla Gugino (Rebecca Hutman), and Dick Van Dyke (Cecil Fredericks) are among the film’s starring actors.

Awards and Nominations: Night at the Museum was a commercial success. It grossed $574.5million against the $110 budget, ranking it fifth in the highest-grossing films in 2006. When the critics reviewed it, the movie received mixed reactions. It received nominations from organizations like Taurus Awards (Hardest Hit), Young Artist Awards (Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Younger), and an MTV Movie Award (Best Comedic Performance). The film won two awards; Artios Award for Best Feature Film Casting – Comedy and Top Box Office Films ASCAP Award.                       

2.  Son of Rainbow (2007)

This film was inspired by the book, 'First Blood'. The movie’s plot is about the coming-of-age story of two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by 'First Blood'. Will's family are strict church goers. He attends school with one of the worst-behaved boys, Lee. They become friends. Will plays stunts in the 'First Blood' film that Lee is making, and the two become blood brothers. French exchange students come to the school, and one of them, Didier, asks Will if he and his friends can act out the play. The play mushrooms and the whole school becomes involved in the film which makes Lee angry. Will and Lee are fight.  However, they reconcile after both get hurt when a building collapses and Lee has to go to the hospital. The two friends happily reunite.

Director: Garth Jennings wrote the script which he used to direct the film.

Main Cast: Bill Milner (Will Proudfoot) and Will Poulter (Lee Carter) are the lead actors in the Son of Rainbow movie.

Awards and Nominations: Son of Rainbow generally received favorable reviews from the critics. Consequently, it appeared in most of the critics’ top ten films in 2008. Kimberly Jones of The Austin Chronicle and Ty Burr of The Boston Globe named it their eighth-best, and Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle named it his ninth. The movie won an Empire Award for Best Comedy. Garth Jennings was nominated for a BAFTA in the "Most Promising Newcomer" category but lost the award to someone else.

3.  The Muppets (2011)

This American musical comedy features a devoted Muppet fan named Walter, his human brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Mary as they assist Kermit the Frog to reunite the disbanded Muppets.  The Muppets must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a businessman who plans to demolish the studio in order to drill for oil. Walter, Gary, and Mary work together to help the Muppets keep possession of the theater. Once again the prevail.

Director: James Bobin used Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller’s script to direct the movie.

Main Cast: Jason Segel (Gary), Amy Adams (Mary), and Chris Cooper (Tex Richman).

Awards and Nominations: 'The Muppets' was a tremendous critical success. It won an Oscar for the Best Original Score, a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature Film, a Golden Tomato Award for Best Reviewed Kids/Family Film, and a Houston Film Critics Society Award for the Best Song, among other numerous awards.                          

4.  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

2007's 'Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix' is a fantasy movie inspired by J. K. Rowling’s 2003 book, 'Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix'. This film is the fifth installment in the Harry Potter franchise and is the sequel to 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'. After it, comes 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'. This movie is about Harry Potter, in his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witch and Wizardry. Lord Voldemort has returned seeking an object he did not have during his previous attack. However, the Ministry of Magic is unaware of Voldemort’s return. When they get the information about his return, they are in denial.

Director: David Yates directed the film which was distributed by Warner Bros Picture.

Main Cast: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Awards and Nominations: the film was nominated at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards for the Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet, even before its release. The 2007 Spike TV Screams Awards nominated the Order of the Phoenix for many categories, including The Ultimate Scream, Best Fantasy Movie, and Best Sequel. At the inaugural ITV National Movie Awards, the film picked up three awards for the Best Family Film, Best Actor for Radcliffe, and Best Actress for Emma Watson. The movie also won the Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture by the Visual Effects Society, among other awards and nominations.

5.  Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

This  film is described as a farce version or a parody of the 1948 Italian classic 'Bicycle Thieves' . It is about a man-child, Pee-wee Herman, and his nationwide search for his stolen bicycle. It is stolen while he is shopping in a mall, and he thinks that his neighbor and enemy, Francis has the bike. In search of the bike, Pee-wee has many encounters. He comes across a biker bar where he wins a dancing contest wins a motorcycle which he crashes and ends up in a hospital, to wake to a TV showing his bike being used as a prop in a certain movie. He sneaks into Warner Bros Picture, takes his bike, and speeds off as the security guards chase him. The president of the studio later drops the charges and gives Pee-wee his bike, on the condition that Pee-wee’s story is included in the film. Pee-wee agrees.

Director: Tim Burton.

Main Cast: Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman) is the movie’s main actor. He works with a cast of other actors.

Awards and Nominations: 'Pee-wee’s Big Adventure' was nominated with a Young Artist Award for Best Family Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).

Sequels: although Pee-wee’s Big Adventure only earned $40 million gross, it received positive reviews. This encouraged two sequels, 'Big Top Pee-wee' in 1988 and 'Pee-wee's Big Holiday' in 2016.

6.  The Colour of Paradise (1999)

This is an Iranian family film. The plot of the movie revolves around the blind Mohammed. Mohammed’s headmaster releases him from his special school in Tehran for summer vacation. Mohammed’s father, Hashem, is annoyed of Hashem’s blindness. He arrives late to pick him up and upon coming, he tries to convince the headmaster to keep Mohammed in school over the summer. The headmaster refuses, and Hashem has to take Mohammed home. Hashem believes he'd be better off if his son were gone, but when such circumstances present themselves, he must come to terms with his true feelings.

Director: Majid Majidi.

Main Cast: The Color of Paradise has Hossein Mahjoub (Hashem, Mohammad's father), Mohsen Ramezani (Mohammad, the blind boy), and Salameh Feyzi (Mohammad's grandmother).

Awards and Nominations: the movie has had several award nominations, including the 2000 Boston Society of Film Critics’ Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film, 2001 Chlotrudis Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, and the 2001 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for the Best Original Foreign Language Film. Majid Majidi won several awards, including the Lina Brocka, Special Mention, Special Jury, and Special Prize of the Young Jury awards. Hossein Mahjoub also won the Best Actor Award by the Cinemanila International Film Festival in 2000.

7.  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

This movie is about a ten-year-old boy, Kevin, as he fends off burglars Pesci and Merv for the second time when he accidentally separates from the family on a Christmas vacation. The McCallister family oversleeps while rushing to catch the flight, again, accidently leave Kevin behind. Kevin attempts to go after them and accidentally flies to New York where he meets Pesci and Merv after they have escaped from the prison. Kevin works with a lady with pigeons to help the police arrest the robbers and stop them from stealing. Again, Kevin prevails.

Director: Chris Columbus directed Home Alone 2.

Main Cast: the film has a big cast. However, Macaulay Culkin (Kevin), Joe Pesci (Harry), and Daniel Stern (Marv) are starred in the movie as the main actors.

Awards and Nominations: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was a critical and commercial success. It grossed $359million against its $28million budget. In 1993, the film won the BMI Film Music Award, the German Golden Screen Award, and the Favorite Comedy Motion Picture People's Choice Award. It also received several award nominations Best Youth Actress Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy (Young Artist Awards), Favorite Movie Actor (Blimp Award), and the Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture by the American Comedy Award.

Conclusion

For a long time, films have proven to be among man’s top entertainer activities. Watching a movie thrills the audience, especially if the film is a funny one.   

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